FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to anti-neoplastic and anti-psoriasis pharmaceutical compositions and methods of treatment and to insecticidal compositions and methods of controlling the growth of insects.
In recent years a great deal of attention has been focused on the polyamines, e.g., spermidine, norspermidine, homospermidine, 1,4-diaminobutane (putrescine), and spermine. These studies have been directed largely at the biological properties of the polyamines probably because of the role they play in proliferative processes. It was shown early on that the polyamine levels in dividing cells, e.g., cancer cells, are much higher than in resting cells. See Janne et al, A. Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 473, 241 (1978); Fillingame et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 72:4042 (1975); Metcalf et al, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 100:2551 (1978); Flink et al, Nature (London) 253:62 (1975); and Pegg et al, Polyamine Metabolism and Function, Am. J. Cell. Physiol. 243:212-221 (1982).
Several lines of evidence indicate that polyamines, particularly spermidine, are required for cell proliferation: (i) they are found in greater amounts in growing than in non-growing tissues; (ii) prokaryotic and eukaryotic mutants deficient in polyamine biosynthesis are auxotrophic for polyamines; and (iii) inhibitors specific for polyamine biosynthesis also inhibit cell growth. Despite this evidence, the precise biological role of polyamines in cell proliferation is uncertain. It has been suggested that polyamines, by virtue of their charged nature under physiological conditions and their conformational flexibility, might serve to stabilize macromolecules such as nucleic acids by anion neutralization. See Dkystra et al, Science, 149:48 (1965); Russell et al, Polyamines as Biochemical Markers of Normal and Malignant Growth (Raven, N.Y., 1978); Hirschfield et al, J. Bacteriol., 101:725 (1970); Morris et al, ibid, p. 731; Whitney et al, ibid, 134:214 (1978); Hafner et al, J. Biol. Chem., 254:12419 (1979); Cohn et al, J. Bacteriol. 134:208 (1978); Pohjatipelto et al, Nature (London), 293:475 (1981); Mamont et al, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 81:58 (1978); Bloomfield et al, Polyamines in Biology and Medicine (D. R. Morris and L. J. Morton, Eds.--Dekker, N.Y., 1981) pp. 183-205; Gosule et al, Nature, 259:333 (1976); Gabbay et al, Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 171:810 (1970); Suwalsky et al, J. Mol. Biol., 42:363 (1969) and Liquori et al, J. Mol. Biol., 24:113 (1968).
However, regardless of the reason for increased polyamine levels the phenomenon can be and has been exploited in chemotherapy. See Sjoerdsma et al, Butterworths Int. Med. Rev.: Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. 35:287 (1984); Israel et al, J. Med. Chem., 16:1 (1973); Morris et al, Polyamines in Biology and Medicine; Dekker, N.Y., p. 223 (1981) and Wang et al, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 94:85 (1980).
It is an object of the present invention to provide novel anti-neoplastic, -viral and -retroviral compounds, pharmaceutical compositions and methods of treatment.